The Raven

Building a bike from the ground up requires technical knowledge, a clear vision of the final product and the resources to pull it all together—all things that Linda and Mike Nobile obviously possess, since they ended up with this clean Harley they call The Raven.

Starting with a wrecked Softail, Linda determined the look and performance she wanted for this bike, then she and Mike started to build it. During the three-month buildup, they stripped the stock frame and Larry McCoullugh at Pro Paint coated it in PPG Gunmetal. Then the Nobiles bolted on ’94 FLHT front forks with early FLH triple trees and an FLH headlight to get that early Harley look. They also installed a White Bros. lowering kit in the front and rear to get it sitting right. The Gunmetal-sprayed solid wheels received some custom-milled grooves, painted in blue for contrast, and were wrapped in Dunlop rubber. The front fender is a ’75 FLH piece that has been smoothed on the side, and the rear fender is from a Heritage. The seat is from Corbin, and the handgrips and the footrests are from Rick Doss.

While all the chassis work was going on, the engine was getting worked over too. The heads were ported by Lee Noteware, and Mike dropped in an S&S cam to work Screamin’ Eagle pushrods and added the rest of the stock valvetrain. A Dyna-Jet–prepped carb and a Screamin’ Eagle air cleaner handle the fuel and air, which, once burned, are blown out a Rick Doss exhaust.

Linda’s original concept for the bike was to emulate the art deco era—an era that represented motion. To finish off that theme, the tank and the fenders were painted similar to a ’33 H-D paint scheme she had seen.

It should come as no surprise that Linda is keeping with the motion theme, putting more than 3000 miles on the bike cruising around this summer. Thus, The Raven is in its element—on the road, in motion.